Seanad debates
Wednesday, 11 June 2003
Autism Services: Statements.
I gather, based on anecdotal evidence, that the problem is first manifest in very young children. In spite of that, it takes weeks, months and even years for the parent of a child who is suspected of being autistic even to get an appointment. That is the reality. One can create any number of graduates and pay the Government all this money, but it is useless if one cannot produce people to assess autistic or potentially autistic children. This increases the anxiety for parents. That is the first resort and the problem has, apparently, not been resolved.
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